52°25′33″N 8°22′16″W / 52.4257°N 8.3712°W / 52.4257; -8.3712[1]

Scarteen Hunt hounds in the 1930s

Scarteen (Irish: An Scairtín, meaning "small thicket")[2] is a townland in the civil parish of Ballyscaddan, County Limerick,[2] near the village of Knocklong. It is best known for the Scarteen Hunt, a fox hunting pack of Kerry Beagles based at Scarteen House, a big house owned since the 1750s by the Ryan family, one of the few Catholic gentry of Penal times.[3] The dogs' coat pattern gave the hunt its nickname, the "Black and Tans", later applied derisively to the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence.[3] Hunt master Thady Ryan (1923–2005) increased the hunt's cachet among visitors from Great Britain and the United States and, later, Continental Europe.[3] Ryan was chef d'equipe of the Irish eventing team at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics.[3] As of 2016 the hunt was mastered by Thady Ryan's son Chris Ryan.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Contact Us". Scarteen website. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b "An Scairtín/Scarteen". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Clavin, Terry (December 2012). "Ryan, Thady". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Home page". Scarteen website. Retrieved 16 December 2016.